Patrick got his solo movie last week, so this week is Big Dave’s solo shot! He decides to discuss part of his Disney Vacation that is very much in the scope of Bandwagon Nerds.

Avengers Campus: Assembling Something Great

This week’s Nerd Review is a very unique one. Usually, we are reviewing a movie and offering our thoughts on it. About a week ago though, I had an opportunity to be the first of us Bandwagon Nerds to visit the brand-spankin new Avenger’s Campus at Disney’s California Adventure (DCA). Of course, this makes sense seeing as how I live all of a 2.5-hour drive from Disneyland. Many of my thoughts about Avenger’s Campus are set forth in this past week’s edition of BWN. But we all thought it would be a good idea to put some of those thoughts into writing for all you fellow nerds out there.

Initially, Avenger’s Campus is very unique in that it is the first designated zone at either Disneyland or DCA completely devoted to one of Disney’s most lucrative franchises, the MCU. Star Wars introduced something similar when Galaxy’s Edge debuted at Disneyland in May of 2019. Now, the MCU has its own outpost nestled away in the heart of DCA. Avenger’s Campus is not quite as immersive as Galaxy’s Edge, at least not yet. But it is immersive enough. The Avenger’s theme song can be heard at just about any vantage point located within the confines of Avenger’s Campus. Any true MCU fan is going to hear that theme, take a look around them at the scenery, and is going to feel something on an emotional range. For me, it was very powerful. It was accentuated due to the fact that on one of the buildings, I was watching a fight break out between Black Widow, Taskmaster, Black Panther, and some random mercenary. What really brought it all home was seeing T’Challa in action and not just seeing him, but hearing him talk with an accent that sounded like a dead ringer for Chadwick Boseman. It was not perfect, granted. How could it be? But it was still a tremendously powerful moment for someone like me who felt as though he would never get to see T’Challa in action again as the Black Panther. For the briefest of moments, reality evaporated….and that is one of the highest compliments I can pay to Avenger’s Campus. It sucks you in and you get lost in the moment…and it’s beautiful.

There was almost always something going on. In addition to that aforementioned battle, there were cameos from characters such as Ant-Man, and the Dora Milajae. Doctor Strange leads young would-be sorcerers through training. Obviously, I did not spend all day there so I did not see everything. However, I have heard that appearances from The Wasp, Iron Man, Loki, Captain Marvel, Star Lord, and others can be expected. One character who has a huge presence is Spider-Man. He is very accessible and will talk to guests, take pictures with the kids, and act very much like Spider-Man. On top of all that, there is the show that happens every so often involving a person playing Spider-Man, and then an animatronic Spider-Man doing a test run of equipment and soaring some 60 feet above Avenger’s Campus. It is a very cool thing to witness, provided you have a good viewing angle from which to watch it.

Food wise, the only real option is the Pym Tasting Lab and the Pym Test Kitchen. For the adults, you will definitely want to check out the Tasting Lab as it has an impressive array of cocktails and craft beers. The Test Kitchen has some good food choices. The wait can be a bit daunting and I would urge anyone visiting to use the Mobile Food Order option on the Disneyland App to their full advantage. There is also the Shawarma Palace for you Shawarma fans out there.

So, let’s talk about rides. Right now, there are just two. The first one is Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout. However, this is not a new ride at all. It debuted in May of 2017 having replaced the beloved Twilight Zone Tower of Terror amidst quite a bit of controversy as many people did not want to see the change take place (my son being one of the most adamant critics of this switch to this very day). Mission Breakout is a drop tower ride in which you get to see the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting a varying selection of bad guys/ creatures. As this is going on, you are dropped, lifted back up, dropped again, and this repeats a few more times. As you would expect from anything Guardians related, the soundtrack is always excellent and you never know which song you will get (Burning Love by Elvis is my favorite one).

Personally, I think the ride got better when it was switched. Part of this is because I am a bigger Marvel fan than I am a fan of the Twilight Zone. But I also feel like the drops got bigger and the overall presentation of the ride improved. The problem was that Mission Breakout did not fit in with anything else in DCA. Tower of Terror was always equated with the Hollywood Backlot area of the park. Mission Breakout was just this blatant switchover to a MCU based property that just had no connection to anything else. That has all changed now that Avenger’s Campus has been born. Mission Breakout is now literally right next to Avenger’s Campus and has suddenly gone from standing out like a sore thumb to blending in perfectly with everything else going on. I cannot recall a ride benefitting as much as Mission Breakout has from this changeover.

The new ride, however, is Spider-Man’s Webslingers. Assuming you can secure a place in the virtual queue, you then have to endure at least an hour more waiting in line. When we went, it was 90 degrees in Anaheim and the wait to get on the ride was brutal. Once you get on the ride, it is very similar to Toy Story Mania. The difference is that instead of using a gun-like apparatus, you just use your arms and hands to fling your webs at targets, which are really malfunctioning Spider-Bots that have run amuck and need to be stopped. It is very fun, but it is a definite workout. Now, Disney are the masters of capitalism and they developed some toys that can be used with this ride. Most notably are the Web Power Bands. These will run you about an extra $35. This allows riders to fire multiple webs at once, thereby leading to higher scores on the ride. I did not get the impression that things were that competitive on the ride, but I guess for some of the kids, it can get petty cutthroat. All in all, it is a good, fun, ride but the heat and long wait really watered down my experience.

There are, of course, the Spider-Bots themselves that you can purchase for $80. You can also purchase tactical upgrades for your bot that run an extra $25. The Spider-Bots are actually a game unto themselves. The idea is you battle another person’s Spider-Bot and shoot your lasers and what have you at the other Bot. The tactical upgrades provide certain advantages over the standard Spider-Bots or different types of upgrades. You can upgrade your Bots with Iron Man, Black Panther, Wasp, Ant-Man, or Black Widow tech. I am not sure which one is the best but I felt compelled to represent my fellow Nerds by buying a Spider-Bot with the Iron Man tactical upgrade. Now, I just need to find someone else to play against.

All in all, Avenger’s Campus was fantastic. And yet, this is really just the beginning. Like the MCU, it is being rolled out in phases. This is Phase I. In Phase II, the Quinjet E-Ticket experience will be unveiled and this sounds like it could be an attraction along the lines of Rise of the Resistance. If that is the case, then the best is truly yet to come. For now, though, they are assembling something great with Avenger’s Campus. The oppressive heat combined with the wait times involved and the way the actual line for Web Slingers was managed is going to cause me to ding Avenger’s Campus just a tad. But, if you are a Marvel fan and are visiting DCA, it will be hard to wipe the smile off your face after you spend some time at Avenger’s Campus.

Big Dave’s Guest Rating: 4.75/5